B5 RULES Redux

Hello:
	Alright, as promised I put the draft of my B5 rules into text
format. 
Here it is.  As far as I know there are no spoilers.  If the rules seem
incomplete it because they are.  I need some time to sort out a few
points in the rules (mainly fighter EW, and my Interceptors are almost
done.)	Tell me what you think.

Later,
Mark S.
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---------------

Babylon 5 To Full Thrust (Playtest Version.)

By Mark A. Siefert
(With lots of help from the members of the FT Mailing List.)

	We all know that one of the most popular backgrounds for playing
"Full
Thrust" is none other than "Babylon 5". Let's face it, we get more
space combat out of <I>B5</I> than we have ever gotten out any of that 
spinoffs from "The Other Sci-Fi TV Franchise" (TM). The "B5" episode 
"Severed Dreams" has been called "Full Thrust: The Movie";, and for damn

good reason. ( e.g. Lasers,fighters, and lots of ships going BOOM!)

	Many "Full Thrust"-ers/"Babylon 5" fans have come up with
their own rules to convert Full Thrust to fit the unique characteristics
of the "B5" universe. Now I want to try my hand at coming up with
my own "Babylon 5" rules. This is will not be easy. There are so many
good ideas that I&nbsp;hope that I don't copy someone. I want to be as
original as possible. Keep in mind that these rules are in a playtest"
mode right now and are subject to change. Let me know what you think.

Technology Levels:

	The level of technical development varies amongst the great
powers.
The more advanced the race the more powerful and effective their weapons
and systems are (and the more points they cost). There are three "tech";
levels for these rules:

-Tech Level 1: Earth Alliance, Narn Regime, Centauri Republic, League
of Non-Aligned Worlds, and Raiders
-Tech Level 2: Minbari. (Perhaps the Strieb and a few others.)
-Tech Level 3: Vorlons and Shadows.

Right now I want to focus on Tech Level 1 powers, and I will focus on
the others later.

Electronic Warfare:
	In Babylon 5, electronic warfare is an important part of combat.
The
Earth Alliance nearly lost their war with the Minbari because the humans
were not able to target their stealthy ships. In these rules, before a
ship can fire on an enemy it must overcome its electronic counter
measures.
Theses rules replace the normal scanning rules found in "Full Thrust"
and "More Thrust" rule books and are based on concepts from Jon
Tuffely's FMA games (i.e. "Dirtside II", and "Stargrunt II."
	After you have moved your ships and fighers, but before you
start the
combat phase, you must go through an electronic warfare phase. A ship
may
try to "target"; an enemy vessel. The player rolls the type of
dice that corresponds to the type of scanners the ship is carrying:

Sensor Type: | Die rolled:
--------------------------
Basic	       1d4

Enhanced	   1d6

Superior	   1d8
	
	The opposing player must try to beat that roll with his ECM
system to
avoid being targeted. He rolls the dice that corresponds to the ship ECM
system type:

ECM Type: | Die rolled:
--------------------------
Basic	       1d4

Enhanced	   1d6

Superior	   1d8

The mass and cost equals that of their counter-parts.

	The number of times a ship can attempt to target another is
equal to
the number of fire control systems it has. A ship can try to target the
same ship more than once. A ship can be trageted by more than one
opposing
ship.

	Fighters: Fighters are a special case which I will deal with
later.

Weapons and Systems:
---------------------

Pluse Cannons (Tech Level 1):

	These weapons are the primary armament for most of the lower
tech
races.
They fire controled bursts of superheated plasma at their target.
Although
they are very destructive against undefended ships, the bursts travel at
sub-light velocities and can be tracked and disrupted before they can do
any harm.
	For the purpose of these rules, the pluse cannons are best
represented
by the normal beam batteries. There are no changes in the mass or the
points
cost. However, AA rated batteries may only be mounted on space stations
(like Babylon 5).

Tech Level 1 Energy Weapons:

	Directed energy weapons are a growing development amongst some
of the
great powers of the Babylon 5 universe. Although they are devistating
weapons
that have been known to litterally &quot;carve&quot; ships into pieces,
they are bulky and take a long time to recharge.

Weapon | Weapon Mass/ | Damgae Dice/
Type	 |  Points Cost | Recharge Time
--------------------------------------
Type 1 |	2/4	    |	1 dice/1 turn

Type 2 |    3/8     | 2 dice/2 turns

Type 3 |    4/12	    | 3 dice/3 turns<

	Energy weapons can only be mounted to fire through only one of
the
four firing arcs. When the beam is fired measure the distance to the
target
and roll 1d6. Check it against this table:

Range: | To Hit:
-----------------
0"-12	 3-6
12"-24"  4-6
24"-36"  5-6
36"-48"   6

	If the beam hits, roll the proper number of dice and the target
takes
damage equal to the result. The beam cannot be fired until the weapon's
recharge time has elasped. INTERCEPTORS MAY NOT STOP AN ENERGY WEAPON!
(I don't care what the "purists" say, you can't intercept an energy beam

Interceptors (Tech Level 1):
	In "Babylon 5" there are no screens for the "younger" races.
REPEAT 
NO SCREENS! The only means to protect yourself from incoming pluse
cannon 
fire is to use a rapid-fire point defense system called an
"interceptor." 
Interceptors are also needed to defend against fighter attacks.